December 07, 2009

This is one of my favorite holiday recipes. I will be making several batches of this and giving them out as gifts to our family, friends and neighbors. This is a great gift idea, easy and inexpensive to make. Everyone loves getting sweets, especially those that are handmade.

Using a candy thermometer, cook until 240 degrees. Stir hard and fast to make sure nothing is sticking to the pan and your toffee doesn’t burn. At 240 degrees, add the almonds. At 260 degrees, lower the heat slightly and finish cooking until your candy thermometer reads 300 degrees. It should take about 15 minutes to reach the 300 degree mark. The mixture should be a bubbly, golden brown color. At 300 degrees (hard crack stage), turn off the heat and immediately remove. Add vanilla and salt. Stir quickly.

Pour the mixture out onto two greased, rimmed baking sheets. Smooth out to a ¼ thickness. After 5 or 10 minutes, you can score the toffee with a knife. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or a small pan in a larger pan of water). When melted, spread chocolate over both trays of toffee and sprinkle with lightly toasted, crushed almonds. When completely cooled, break up and store in air tight container.

This makes for a wonderful gift. You can wrap them in pretty bags and give them to family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Enjoy!!